Publication Date
1984
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)
First Advisor
Michael Jerald
Abstract
These are troubling times for public education in the United States. Declining College Board scores, public dissatisfaction and a shortage of qualified applicants have brought the crisis to national attention. However, becoming a political football in the 1984 political campaigns is not likely to improve the situation. Teachers and prospective teachers would do well to examine carefully their motives for teaching and the roles they choose to play in their careers. Without a clear self-image, and one they can share with each other, teachers are doomed to alienation and frustration in coming to terms with the debate that is swirling around them. This paper is the description of a conference designed to facilitate a clarification of self-images. In a cross-cultural setting teachers came to see themselves and their roles more clearly by comparing and contrasting themselves with teachers from a different society. They opened their minds to other educational systems, and got feedback from outside observers. The conference is a model of a small-scale, grassroots effort by teachers to clarify the conflicting demands of their profession and to find a self-image which is personally satisfying and appears strong and unified to the community.
Disciplines
Education | Educational Administration and Supervision | Other Education
Recommended Citation
Butterworth, Timothy, "Teachers and Their Communities: A Group Self-Assessment, Using a Cross-Cultural Approach" (1984). MA TESOL Collection. 592.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/ipp_collection/592